The Elon University men's basketball team is spending the first part of August in Italy as part of Elon's commitment to diversity and global engagement for its students. Throughout the trip, we will bring photos and stories from the team's time abroad.
DAY ONE
Told by Andrew Junkin
The days leading up to leaving for Italy created a sense of excitement for me and my teammates. After our pre-departure classes with Professor Carignan, we felt like we were ready to conquer Rome. Then the reality of flying in 2022 hit.
After our connecting flight caused us to miss our flight to Rome, we were forced to stay in Charlotte overnight and delay our arrival in Rome by a full day. Not to worry though, American Airlines gave us meal vouchers to make up for it. Once we were finally on the plane to Rome, the waiting game was on. For most of us, it was the first time flying across the Atlantic and the scale of how far that truly is really starts setting in around hour five or so.
Our arrival in Rome was nothing short of spectacular. Due to our delay in arriving we had to truly hit the ground running and our first stop was Vatican City. The nucleus of the Roman Catholic Church was everything promised and more. The scale and nature of the Vatican brings about a particular kind of reverence that stems from observing the beautiful artwork in such a historic and storied place. The Sistine Chapel was everything promised. The idea of dedicating years of your life to the production of timeless art almost forces you into a state of awe. The immense amounts of walking didn’t end here though.
Once we finished off the Vatican we prepared for our first game in Italy. We didn’t know what to expect from the game for several factors. It was our first day meeting one of our players, it was our first game under the new staff, and we’d been traveling 10 hours with a full day of sightseeing leading up to the tip. It went exactly as planned though and reassured our faith in our staff and each other. We won by almost 50 points and held the other team to an astonishingly low shooting percentage. The FIBA rules were different to adjust to, but again our staff prepared us precisely for this time.
DAY TWO
Told by John Bowen III
Day two was everything we expected and more! We traveled to Florence, the capital of the region of Tuscany. Despite walking in a blistering 105°F in the scorching Tuscany sun, the sites we got to see were absolutely breathtaking.
We started off by visiting the Santa Maria del Fiore, the historic church in Florence. The beautiful gothic design of this building stood out instantly. The majority of the art and designs in this Cathedral told the history of the New Testament in the Bible along with the history of the church there, which was started by the Dominicans, an order of the Catholic Church founded by St. Dominic of Spain. The inside of the chapel was stunning because of the size of the interior along with the beautiful paintings inside. They paid homage to Jesus Christ and the families who donated and played a big role in this church, such as the Medici family, who was a banking and political dynasty in Florence during the first half of the 15th century.
We then finished the day by getting a tour of the city of Florence which was filled with a plethora of beautiful sculptures and shops. My personal favorite was the replica David statue in the Piazza della Signoria because of the incredible detail along with the history behind it. It was built facing where the French would come in to warn the French that they were being watched, and as an inspiration to the Florentines as they were considered the underdogs to the French.
Florence is a beautiful city, richly filled with art & history that I would 10/10 recommend you go visit one day!
Day Three
Told by Sean Halloran and Jerald Gillens-Butler
It was still blazing hot and we walked a lot of miles, yet the beautiful views of Florence were worth it.
Today we visited the Uffizi Gallery in Florence which was created by the famous Medici family. The gallery contained hundreds of beautiful paintings and works from very famous artists including Leonardo Da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Michelangelo, and many others. Each piece of art contained specific perspectives and meanings behind the creation of work that were very compelling.
After visiting the Uffizi Gallery we took a trip to the Boboli Gardens which included the Historical Park of Florence. It is full of beautiful statues and well cultivated grounds, which we were able to see on our hike up to the top of the hill. If you make it up to the top, you’ll be rewarded with some fine panoramic views of the city and beyond, which is one of the most iconic views of Florence!
We also got some free time for shopping before we left Florence. Some of my teammates found shoes, but most of us were just focused on gelato. We finished our evening adding to our intercultural competencies at a Brazilian steakhouse.
Day Four
Told by Torrence Watson
Today has been another great day for our Italian experience. We left Florence for two very different nearby cities.
First, we got a chance to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It is something that we always see on movies and in textbooks, but we finally got to see it for ourselves. This was an experience that we will appreciate even more when we get back to Elon. I was so excited that I FaceTimed my mom and dad at 3am back at home so that I could show it to them! I’m not going to lie that it was scary to climb the 296 stairs, but even more scary coming back down with no railings. It was also very small at the top and some other tourists were wishing Junkin good luck fitting through the opening as they came out and saw his size. The views at the top were amazing and provided us with more great pictures. We were also able to visit the Pisa Baptistry and the Pisa Cathedral. Everyone was excited to get their picture made pretending to hold the tower up, or even hugging the tower, and send those back to family and friends.
We left Pisa and went to Viareggio, a nearby beach resort town on the Tyrrhenian Sea. This provided us some much needed relaxation time. We were able to try some new food in a completely different environment. This was finally the time we could enjoy the hot weather, which wasn't as bad with the ocean breeze. Many people were fascinated by how tall the team was and asked us to take pictures. The beach was very different from those in America, primarily because it was private and we had to pay if we wanted to sit on the beach.
The people on the beach loved that we were basketball players and enjoyed our presence. Our journey today made me and the team want to come back to Italy just to interact with the friendly people. It was truly an unbelievable day!
Day Five
Told by Ja’Dun Michael and Max Mackinnon
We began our day by hopping on the bus for a four-hour bus ride to Venice, with stops in two cities to break it up. After an eventful day yesterday on the beach, most of us spent the first two hours sleeping on the bus.
We first went to the Mosnel Vineyard and a tour of the winery. We were introduced to the process of making wine from the harvest, to storage, then waiting 2-5 years for it to be perfect. We had a very scenic lunch but do not worry Phoenix fans, this was simply a visit and we did not indulge in any wine tasting.
After our visit to the winery, we hopped right back on the bus and headed to Verona for our tour of the city. It was another 100+ degree day, but we persevered with plenty of water and gelato. The first thing we saw was The Arena of Verona. This arena was built around the same time as the Colosseum in Rome that unfortunately we did not get to see due to our flight situation earlier in the week. The excitement of the day really began to pick up as we traveled down the shopping alleys, seeing places like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Dolce & Gabbana, where some guys were able to purchase shoes, jewelry, bags, and other gifts. The main sight in Verona was seeing the family houses for Romeo and Juliet. We visited this site for about 20 minutes and some of us were able to even get a picture with the statue of Juliet and gain some good luck. We were able to end our time in Verona with a little bit of free time to shop, eat, or just chill a little bit.
After our time was up we headed back to the bus and traveled to Venice. We concluded our long day with a lovely dinner at the hotel, and headed to bed.
Day Six
Told by RJ Noord
Today was a great day to be a Phoenix! We started the day off with a private cruise along the water. It was cool to see The Bridge of Liberty, one of the only connections between the mainland and the islands of Venice. You could see the beautiful skyline and it actually has the only street post we can drive past.
We learned that the muscles and fish in the water are slowly dying because of lack of oxygen. This is due to lack of rain resulting in higher amounts of salt water. Also, in 1600 Venice was very powerful sort of similar to Pisa and Florence, but Venice was the most powerful of them all.
Burano is one of the 120 islands that make up Venice. It is very peculiar, quiet and lovely, just a very peaceful setting that isn’t hectic, unlike the main attraction in Venice, St. Mark’s Square. The scenery is very vibrant and colorful. We learned that the buildings are so colorful because it is a fishing village and when it is foggy the fishermen use the bright colors to tell which house is theirs. The two main items in the Burano economy are fish and lace. It takes a long time to make the intricate patterns of lace in Burano. We met the famous Paola, who has been making lace by hand for 75 years since she was 10, and spent one entire year on one piece.
We also visited Doge’s Palace, which represents the city of Venice. It provided housing for the royal family and was the center of government. This one structure was the equivalent of our White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court. The paintings in the palace aren’t necessarily people, but they are symbols such as peace and justice. It was very interesting to see how the artists use their crafts to tell the story of Venice and the Doge.
One of the more exciting moments of today was when one of our former players, Federico Poser, joined us. He was able to reunite with some of the older guys that played with him since he lives near Venice. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us!
Day Seven
Told by LA Pratt and Dre Smart
Day seven in Italy was yet another perfect day to be a Phoenix!
After a delicious breakfast we headed off to tour Treviso. This was really cool because it is home to a former Phoenix basketball player, Federico Poser. Treviso was nothing short of beautiful. It was a peaceful town with high rise apartments and a canal of beautiful water running throughout the entire town. Treviso was another place packed with rich history. It portrayed Venice in a lot of ways which is why they like to call themselves “little Venice”. The winged lion was also shown on a lot of buildings, just like in Venice as their way to show their respect to St. Mark and their relationship with the Venetian Republic. This beautiful city was actually bombed in World War II but many of the damaged buildings were rebuilt the exact same way they were prior to the bombing. After a beautiful tour we headed down to a great local restaurant, Trattoria Due Mori. The lovely owners prepared an amazing pasta followed by a plate of rich potatoes and perfectly cooked chicken. After this perfect pre-game meal, it was GAME TIME!
We took on a pro team based out of Bassano named Orange 1 Basket Bassano. Another day, another win for Coach Taylor and the Elon Men’s Basketball Team. Excellent ball pressure and quick transition led the Phoenix to a gaudy victory, 100 - 55.
After this action packed game, we headed down for dinner at Pizzeria Del Napoli. We enjoyed our own choice of delicious Italian pizza coupled with a night full of laughs and team bonding. Once again, a great day to be a Phoenix.
Day Eight
Told by Sam Sherry
As our time in Italy winds down, we were excited for our last full day. We spent the morning traveling further north. Although we didn’t have time to visit Lake Como, our bus driver was able get us close enough to take pictures through the windows. Visiting Como is now on the bucket list for most of us!
Our first major activity of the day was teaching an Italian youth basketball players clinic. We got to experience what it’s like to teach young boys and girls in Italy the fundamentals on how to play basketball. It was a truly eye opening experience because every kid in the gym was a great listener, despite the fact that English was not their primary language. They were super attentive, they took every drill seriously, and were determined to get better throughout the clinic. It was surprising to see that many of the children were almost fluent in English, and I found out that learning English in Italian schools is almost mandatory now. It was impressive to see the kids understand what we were trying to teach them, and put it into action so well. The kids were also super friendly, which in my experience is what makes Italy an awesome place. Every person that I have met in Italy is super nice, polite, and patient with me and my team since we don’t speak Italian. I hope the children had a great time and expanded their basketball skills with us.
After the clinic, we continued through some great scenery to our final game against an Italian All-Star Team. This was definitely our toughest competition. They moved the ball well and had great communication compared to the other two teams we played. However, we matched their intensity, especially in the second half and won 91-61.
One of the coolest moments of our trip was getting to meet Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and Tar Heel legend, Bob McAdoo. His son played on the Italian All-Star team, and actually played against Jerald Gillens-Butler in high school. He spoke with us after the game and provided some great words of wisdom.
It was a great day for the Phoenix! I think we are all sad to be leaving tomorrow and also excited to get home!
Day Nine
Told by Zac Ervin
As we head back to Elon, I am so grateful for the experience we had in Italy. I’ve heard from my friends on other teams how much they enjoyed their study abroad experience, but I was not prepared for the combination of adventures we would have. From tours of churches and museums, to amazing food, to playing basketball in another country, I can’t believe I was able to do it all, and with my best friends!
This was also an important experience to have with a new coaching staff and new teammates. We’ve been together for a few months now, but nothing helps you come together like the shared experience of surviving 104 degrees in the sun, or playing in gyms with no air conditioning. We are even closer now than we were before, and I didn’t think that was possible.
So, here are some things I’m going to miss about Italy:
- Food - Pizza, Pasta, Gelato
- Eating as time for shared experience and bonding, not something to be rushed through before the next thing in my day
- Even though Italy is a relatively young country (1861), there are rich traditions and landmarks that are far older than what we see in America
- The views on a bus - as much as I love North Carolina and Virginia, it’s nothing like driving through Tuscany or Lombardy
- How polite the people are, and how everyone speaks multiple languages
- Fed! - It was so good to see one of my best friends after a year, and to see him in his home country was so fun
On the other hand, there are several things I’m excited to get back to in America.
- My big bed
- Air conditioning everywhere, but especially in the Schar Center
- Ice in my drinks
- My American food staples of Chipotle, California Burrito, and steak
- Driving
This was definitely a once in a lifetime experience and I’m so appreciative to our administration for making this possible. Italy has definitely increased my appreciation for other cultures and I can’t wait for my next international experience!
